 | New songs of innocence |  |
43
OVERDUE.
Wan November leaves are whirling o'er the lea,
Wild November winds are rifling every tree,
While I wait and watch beside a stormy sea
For a little ship that is coming home to me.
Wild November winds are rifling every tree,
While I wait and watch beside a stormy sea
For a little ship that is coming home to me.
All the summer through have I waited idly here;
Winds were soft and wooing, skies were calm and clear;
Like a sheet of crystal shone the water-way—
But her snowy sail never dipped into the bay.
Winds were soft and wooing, skies were calm and clear;
Like a sheet of crystal shone the water-way—
But her snowy sail never dipped into the bay.
O my little ship, did you linger in the West,
Far among the radiant cloudy islands of the blest,
Breathing airs of heaven, and gathering blossoms blown
From the trees of Paradise to bear to lands unknown?
Far among the radiant cloudy islands of the blest,
Breathing airs of heaven, and gathering blossoms blown
From the trees of Paradise to bear to lands unknown?
Hear me, angry ocean! Hear me, sullen sky!
Hear, and let my little ship all unscathed go by—
Not the topmost pennant of her sail be tempesttossed,
Not the frailest fragment of her wondrous cargo lost!
Hear, and let my little ship all unscathed go by—
Not the topmost pennant of her sail be tempesttossed,
Not the frailest fragment of her wondrous cargo lost!
44
O my little ship, with your precious foreign freight,
Welcome to your haven, howsoever late!
Come, as comes a sunbeam darkest days to cheer—
Come and make a summer in the winter of the year!
Welcome to your haven, howsoever late!
Come, as comes a sunbeam darkest days to cheer—
Come and make a summer in the winter of the year!
| New songs of innocence | |